Oxidative stress is a common feature in neurodegenerative diseases associated with neuroinflammation, and therefore, has been proposed as a key target for novel therapies for these diseases. Recently, adipose-derived stem cell (ASC)-based cell therapy has emerged as a novel strategy for neuroprotection. In this study, we evaluate the therapeutic role of ASC-conditioned medium (ASC-CM) against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity in a new in vitro model of ec23/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-differentiated human SH-SY5Y neuron-like cells (SH-SY5Yd)...

Transgenesis involves the insertion of an exogenous gene into an animal's genome, which allows the identification of the expressed phenotypes in brain function or behavior. Lentiviral-mediated transgenesis offers unique transduction potency making it possible to deliver and stably integrate transgenes into a wide variety of dividing and nondividing cells. The ability to establish long-term expression of such transgenes allows their use for transgenesis which is especially useful in organisms lacking quality pluripotent stem cell lines and which is otherwise difficult to produce via traditional pronuclear microinjection, such as songbirds...

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous regressions of brain stem gliomas are extremely rare. Only six cases have been reported in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a patient who was diagnosed with a pontomedullary dorsal brain stem glioma at the age of 15 years. An open biopsy showed the presence of an anaplastic glioma. Because the patient and her parents refused conventional therapies, including radiation and chemotherapy, we followed up the patient by performing magnetic resonance imaging scans on her every 3 months...

Adult neurogenesis mainly occurs at the subventricular zone (SVZ) on the walls of the lateral ventricle and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG). However, the majority of newborn neurons undergo programmed cell death (PCD) during the period of proliferation, migration, and integration. Stroke activates neural stem cells (NSCs) in both SVZ and SGZ. This process is regulated by a wide variety of signaling pathways. However, the newborn neurons derived from adult neurogenesis are insufficient for tissue repair and function recovery...

The accurate generation of an appropriate number of different neuronal and glial subtypes is fundamental to normal brain functions and requires tightly orchestrated spatial and temporal developmental programmes to maintain the balance between the proliferation and the differentiation of neural progenitor cells. However, the molecular mechanism governing this process has not been fully elucidated. Here, we found that miR-214-3p was highly expressed in neural progenitor cells and dynamically regulated during neocortical development...

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent and malignant brain tumor, displaying notorious resistance to conventional therapy, partially due to molecular and genetic heterogeneity. Understanding the mechanisms for gliomagenesis, tumor stem/progenitor cell propagation and phenotypic diversity is critical for devising effective and targeted therapy for this lethal disease. The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor OLIG2, which is universally expressed in gliomas, has emerged as an important player in GBM cell reprogramming, genotoxic resistance, and tumor phenotype plasticity...

In 1990s, reports of discovery of a small group of cells capable of proliferation and contribution to formation of new neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) reversed a century-old concept on lack of neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain. These cells are found in all stages of human life and contribute to normal cellular turnover of the CNS. Therefore, the identity of regulating factors that affect their proliferation and differentiation is a highly noteworthy issue for basic scientists and their clinician counterparts for therapeutic purposes...

The primary outcome of heat acclimation is increased thermotolerance, which stems from enhancement of innate cytoprotective pathways. These pathways produce "ON CALL" molecules that can combat stressors to which the body has never been exposed, via cross-tolerance mechanisms (heat acclimation-mediated cross-tolerance-HACT). The foundation of HACT lies in the sharing of generic stress signaling, combined with tissue/organ- specific protective responses. HACT becomes apparent when acclimatory homeostasis is achieved, lasts for several weeks, and has a memory...

The combined infusion of Banisteriopsis caapi stem and Psychotria viridis leaves, known as ayahuasca, has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes. The infusion is rich in N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, with properties similar to those of serotonin. Despite substantial progress in the development of new drugs to treat anxiety and depression, current treatments have several limitations. Alternative drugs, such as ayahuasca, may shed light on these disorders. Here, we present time-course behavioral changes induced by ayahuasca in zebrafish, as first step toward establishing an ideal concentration for pre-clinical evaluations...

BACKGROUND: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by rachitic bone manifestations and a low serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level. It is caused by mutations in the tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene, which encodes the tissue non-specific isozyme of ALP. HPP patients exhibit various presentations depending on their age at onset, such as infantile HPP combined with vitamin B6-responsive seizures. CASE PRESENTATION: A newborn with infantile HPP presented with tonic convulsions from day 5 after birth and received intravenous vitamin B6 (10mg/kg/day pyridoxal phosphate)...

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common adult primary brain tumor, and the 5-year survival rate is less than 5%. GBM malignancy is driven in part by a population of GBM stem-like cells (GSCs) that exhibit indefinite self-renewal capacity, multipotent differentiation, expression of neural stem cell markers, and resistance to conventional treatments. GSCs are enriched in specialized niche microenvironments that regulate stem phenotypes and support GSC radioresistance. Therefore, identifying GSC-niche interactions that regulate stem phenotypes may present a unique target for disrupting the maintenance and persistence of this treatment resistant population...

Neural stem cells (NSCs) persist throughout life in the dentate gyrus and the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ), where they continuously provide new neurons and some glia. These cells are found in specialized niches that regulate quiescence, activation, differentiation, and cell fate choice. A key aspect of the regulatory niche is the vascular plexus, which modulates NSC behavior during tissue homeostasis and regeneration. During aging, NSCs become depleted and dysfunctional, resulting in reduced neurogenesis and poor brain repair...

Tailored nanocarriers have gained huge research focus for brain drug delivery, aimed at combating several neuro-oncological conditions, such as the glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The progress of knowledge on the pathogenesis of GBM has allowed identifying the major hurdles for efficient treatment, encompassing biological interfaces (blood-brain barrier and blood-brain tumour barrier), specificities of tumour microenvironment, as well as both bulk and glioma stem cell subpopulations. These findings provided new insights into the molecular basis of GBM, being a strong driving force behind development of targeted nanomedicines in this area...

Differentiating human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) towards Schwann cells produces an unstable phenotype when stimulating factors are withdrawn. Here, we set out to examine the role of glial growth factor 2 (GGF-2) in the maintenance of Schwann-like cells. Following ASC differentiation to Schwann-like cells, stimulating factors were withdrawn such that cells either remained in media supplemented with all stimulating factors, GGF-2 alone, or underwent complete withdrawal of all factors. Furthermore, each stimulating factor was also removed from the growth medium individually...

Impairment of hippocampal adult neurogenesis in aging or degenerating brain is a well-known phenomenon caused by the shortage of brain stem cell pool, alterations in the local microenvironment within the neurogenic niches, or deregulation of stem cell development. Environmental enrichment (EE) has been proposed as a potent tool to restore brain functions, to prevent aging-associated neurodegeneration, and to cure neuronal deficits seen in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we report our data on the effects of environmental enrichment on hippocampal neurogenesis in vivo and neurosphere-forming capacity of hippocampal stem/progenitor cells in vitro...

Maternal diabetes is known to cause neural tube defects (NTDs) in embryos and neuropsychological deficits in infants. Several metabolic pathways and a plethora of genes have been identified to be deregulated in developing brain of embryos by maternal diabetes, although the exact mechanism remains unknown. Recently, miRNAs have been shown to regulate genes involved in brain development and maturation. Therefore, we hypothesized that maternal diabetes alters the expression of miRNAs that regulate genes involved in biological pathways critical for neural tube development and closure during embryogenesis...

Our previous studies demonstrated that Austrolebias charrua annual fish is an excellent model to study adult brain cell proliferation and neurogenesis due to the presence of active and fast neurogenesis in several regions during its short lifespan. Our main goal was to identify and localize the cells that compose the neurogenic areas throughout the Austrolebias brain. To do this, we used two thymidine halogenated analogs to detect cell proliferation at different survival times: 5-chloro-2́-deoxyuridine (CldU) at 1 day and 5-iodo-2́-deoxyuridine (IdU) at 30 days...